Patient Billing and Financial Services

Transcription

1 Patient Billing and Financial Services UNDERSTANDING YOUR OBLIGATIONS BAYHEALTH.ORG

2 We realize this can be a stressful time for you and your family. We particularly understand how frustrating it can be when you re in a hospital as an inpatient, outpatient, or emergency room patient and you re not familiar with our billing processes. That s why we want to help you understand the issues involved in paying bills as well as the differences between bills you receive from Bayhealth and other providers. Because billing is handled separately for hospital charges and physician fees, it s important that you take a moment to read this information carefully. Also be sure to keep this information with your other financial or health records, as it is a handy resource. Before your visit Please become familiar with your insurance plan(s) before your visit/ appointment. For each visit, remember to bring the following: Photo identification; if photo identification is not available, please provide two other forms of identification. Acceptable forms of photo identification include a driver s license or other state issued identification card or a passport. Acceptable types of non-photo identification include employee ID badge, bank card, social security card, or credit card (Note: for identity protection purposes we will not accept two credit cards). Health insurance card(s) Signed doctor s requisition, authorization and referral forms Requested co-payment These items give us an understanding of your insurance coverage and are needed to bill your insurance in an accurate and timely manner. To protect your identity, service may be postponed if proper identification is not presented at time of registration. On every visit, we will ask for your photo identification and health insurance card(s) to ensure accurate billing. This may seem redundant, but it is necessary because insurance coverage often changes between visits.

3 ANESTHESIA SERVICES Anesthesia services at Bayhealth are provided by Bay Anesthesia, a non-employed provider group. Bay Anesthesia is out of network with some insurance companies. If you require surgery or an interventional procedure, are delivering a baby or receiving another service that includes anesthesia, please call your insurance company to determine if Bay Anesthesia is in or out of network. You may incur higher costs if they are out of network. Payment responsibility At the time of your admission, appointment or service, in addition to presenting a current copy of your insurance card to your Bayhealth registrar, you will be requested to pay your co-pay. Additionally, if your insurance company informs us you have a deductible that has not been met or other co-insurance amounts due, we will request the part of your hospital service or physician(s) bills that your insurance plan doesn t cover or make suitable arrangements. In some instances, you may be required to pay the full amount. As a rule, you should refer to your benefit guide before any hospital, clinic or doctor s office visit to find out what services are covered under your plan, and whether you will be responsible for any part of the payment. Each insurance company/employer-sponsored plan has different coverage benefits/limitations and specific guidelines for covered vs. non-covered services. Please note that our Patient Financial Services department will file your claim directly with your primary and secondary insurance providers. If your insurance provider does not respond within 60 days of receipt, we may notify you and ask that you contact your insurance provider immediately. If you don t have your insurance card with you at the time of your appointment, please provide the insurance information to our Billing Support department at If you do not notify us within 36 hours, you may become responsible for the entire bill. Financial assistance Bayhealth has an uncompensated care program based on the Federal Poverty Guidelines for income, family size and cash assets. Our uncompensated care only applies for traditional, non-elective hospital services. If you believe you may qualify for assistance, please contact our Billing Support Department at Based on the results of a preliminary screening, we will provide you with our uncompensated care application to complete. Income must be verifiable and our main sources for

4 this verification are the last filed Federal and State tax returns. Applications are also available on our website Bayhealth.org by clicking on Patients and Visitors on the left navigation menu, then Billing Information. Once the Billing Information menu appears on the left side of the screen, click on Financial Assistance Program. Applications can be mailed or returned in person to our Billing Support office located at 522 S. State Street, Dover, DE 19901, or in person to the cashier s office at Bayhealth Milford Memorial, 21 West Clarke Avenue, Milford, DE Uninsured admitted patients will be screened for Medicaid eligibility. Privacy At Bayhealth, we are committed to the protection of your health information. The privacy rule permits us to use and disclose protected health information for payment purposes. Our Notice of Privacy Practices explains your rights and our responsibilities related to payment disclosures and other health information. You can pick up a copy of our privacy notice from any registration site, or you may call the Privacy coordinator at Types of bills Here is an overview of the different types of bills you can expect to receive, depending on the services provided to you. INPATIENT BILLS Patients who are admitted to the hospital (inpatients) will receive multiple bills. One bill will be from the hospital. This bill includes charges for your room, medical supplies and services, and any tests or procedures that you may undergo, including X-rays. You also will receive separate bills from nonemployed physicians that provided services to you during your stay. OBSTETRICS/ NEWBORN BILLS Expectant parents have a decision to make related to insurance coverage for the child. If both parents have insurance through their employer, we recommend contacting each employer s Human Resources department to inquire on the process for adding a dependent to your insurance plan. You should complete your insurance discussions prior to your expected delivery date to identify the most cost-effective option for you. Upon delivery, you need to contact your Human Resources department and request to add coverage for your new child. If you have coverage through Medicaid, you will want

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6 to notify your care manager. This ensures that the newborn will be added to your insurance as a covered dependent. Once you have determined which plan your child will be added to, please contact our Billing Support department at Your preparation and attention in advance will help prevent insurance denials. Also, in preparation for your delivery, and as anesthesia is typically used in deliveries, please refer to the Before Your Visit: Anesthesia Services section at the beginning of this brochure. OBSERVATION BILLS Patients who require observation are placed in a normal inpatient setting; however, they have not been formally admitted by a physician, as they don t meet clinical criteria for an inpatient stay. These patients are typically in the hospital one or two nights, while the physician is waiting for test results to determine treatment plans. If the patient s condition does not meet inpatient criteria, they will be discharged. If you re placed in observation, your insurance company pays the hospital under the outpatient provisions of your benefits, but you will receive bills from the physicians who provided care to you. It s important to remember Bayhealth has an obligation to place you in the correct level of care (observation or inpatient) based on your clinical condition and the medical criteria you meet. SURGERY BILLS Patients who require surgery will have multiple bills. One bill will be from the hospital. This bill includes charges for the operating room, surgical supplies and services and any pre-surgery tests or procedures that you may undergo, including X-rays. An additional bill will come from Bay Anesthesia. Bay Anesthesia is out of network for some insurance carriers. Patients should call their insurance company prior to having surgery to determine if Bay Anesthesia is in or out of network. You will also be billed for the physician performing the surgery. EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT BILLS Patients seen in an emergency setting will receive multiple bills. Your emergency bill may include charges for your visit as well as any tests or procedures that are done at the time of your visit. You will be billed separately for services provided by the Emergency Department physician. Subsequent visits (follow-up/rechecks) to the Emergency Department (ED) may result in additional charges; including additional co-insurance and/or deductibles. Please refer to your Explanation of Benefits manual for guidance.

7 Bayhealth employed the ED Physicians effective February 28, Patients who have been to the ED before or after February 28, 2018 will receive bills from different billing companies. Questions or disputes with the physician bill should be resolved with the ED Physician billing company by calling the phone number included on the physician billing statement. DOCTORS BILLS The bill from your doctor(s) will include the cost of medical and surgical care they provide, including review and interpretation of your diagnostic tests. You may receive multiple bills if more than one physician is involved in your case. Most doctors are independent practitioners and will bill you for their services (i.e., reading X-rays, emergency room visits, etc.) Bayhealth does employ doctors for pathology, oncology, neurosurgery, maternal fetal medicine, and clinics. If Bayhealth employs the doctors, we ll bill insurance or you for their services either under the name Bayhealth Medical Center or Bayhealth Physicians. Dispute/resolution Disagreement with charges and reimbursement from insurance companies will occasionally surface. Our charges are established to meet the financial needs of Bayhealth. Normally, prices for procedures and tests are adjusted annually. Supply charges are related to the cost to purchase the item. Drug charges are based on average wholesale prices. When disputes arise with reimbursement from your insurance company, we will often appeal their decision directly with the insurance company. However, these disputes often can be resolved more effectively when you contact the insurance company directly. We will be happy to provide you with any information you might need in appealing the claim with your insurance company. Please contact our Billing Support Department for assistance at Payment methods You may pay by cash, personal check, money order, or debit/credit card. All Bayhealth sites accept Visa, Master Card and Discover Card. ATMs are available at many sites. We also offer financial counseling to help identify payment options. Bayhealth is now accepting online payments through the MyChart patient portal. You can choose to create an account in MyChart to view your clinical test results and pay your bills or pay as a guest (without seeing test results). If you do not have a MyChart account, there will be a security code on the bottom of your statement you can use to create an account.

8 Payment plans We offer interest free payment plans to our qualified customers. These plans must be agreed upon with an authorized billing support representative. Failure to contact our Billing Support Department to establish a payment plan will result in your account advancing to a collection agency. Please contact our Billing Support Department for assistance at Customers that cannot meet the minimum payments may have their plan outsourced to another company for billing and collection. These plans will be outsourced at the discretion of Bayhealth. Collection policy The hospital will take all necessary steps to collect debt(s), which may include the use of outside services such as collection agencies, attorneys, etc. Patients with insurance or Medicare should receive their first invoice within thirty (30) days of the hospital s payment receipt date. We will send a minimum of three (3) invoices to collect the amount due. In order to prevent your account from being advanced to outside services for collection, you should either pay the balance within four (4) months or make suitable payment arrangements by contacting a billing support representative at

9 Accounts that are advanced to a collection agency may be reported to a credit bureau, and this might affect your credit rating. Typically, the debt is reported to the credit bureau 31 days after the initial contact from the agency is made. This allows the debtor to clear the debt before the debt is reported. Glossary of common billing and insurance terms ADVANCE BENEFICIARY NOTICE (ABN) Some services are not payable by Medicare or other insurance companies. If your physician orders these services, you will be asked to sign an ABN. The ABN is notification that you understand that payment for the listed services will be your responsibility, if Medicare or your insurance company denies payment. If you do not sign the ABN, the test should not be performed. If you decide to receive the service but refuse to sign, the registrar will indicate on the ABN that the Patient Refused to Sign, and you (the patient) will then be responsible for the bill. ABN FOR EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES/TESTS You will also be asked to sign an ABN for lab, infusion and radiology services your commercial insurance company considers experimental. Rather than deferring treatment, you should ask your physician if an alternative test /infused medication is available. This is especially important if you have Highmark BlueCross BlueShield of Delaware, as many employers in the area have coverage through a BlueCross BlueShield plan from another state, and that state s medical polices may be different from the Highmark BlueCross BlueShield medical policies. You should ask your physician to call your insurance company s home BlueCross BlueShield plan to confirm the test will be covered with the diagnosis on the order and that their medical policy does not consider it experimental. AUTHORIZATION Many insurance companies require an authorization to be issued prior to tests or procedures being performed. Without an authorization, the insurance company will not reimburse Bayhealth and it may be your responsibility to pay the bill depending on the contract between your insurance company and the hospital. Your physician will request the authorization from your

10 insurance company. When authorizations cannot be verified at the point of registration, you ll be asked to sign a letter accepting financial responsibility or you may opt to postpone the test until authorizations are verified. CO-INSURANCE A percentage, determined by the payer, of the patient s total charges that the patient is responsible to pay. The health plan usually pays the remaining portion of charges. COORDINATION OF BENEFITS (COB) A method of integrating benefits payable under more than one group health insurance plan so the insured person s benefits from all sources do not exceed 100 percent of his or her allowable medical expenses. CO-PAY A fixed fee that the subscriber must pay for his/her use of specific medical services covered by his/her plan. EXPLANATION OF BENEFITS (EOB) All insurance companies are required to send you an explanation of benefits form, which explains what they are paying and shows the amount you owe. It usually shows total charges, allowable charges, non-covered charges, the payment, deductible and coinsurance (when applicable), and any notations to clarify any of its actions. The amount you owe should be the same as the hospital bill. LATE CHARGES Charges for services rendered to you that were omitted on the first bill. They are not charges being added to the account for late payment.

11 MEDICARE EXPLANATION OF BENEFITS (EOB) Medicare sends summaries of their payments (EOB) to the patient on a quarterly basis. These summaries may show a different amount than the hospital bill. This difference is created by the hospital s agreement with Medicare. Medicare payment is not based on the hospital charges but on Medicare s established payment schedule. Medicare determines the amount that is the patient s responsibility. This amount should correspond to the amount due from either the patient or your secondary insurance. Please keep in mind that if Medicare doesn t pay for a hospital service, often the secondary insurance company will also not pay for that service. There could be more than one EOB from Medicare per visit. Inpatient stays will usually generate a Part A and Part B EOB. MEDICARE TAKE-HOME DRUGS Drugs that are usually selfadministered by the patient, such as those in pill form or that are used for self-injection, aren t normally paid by Medicare (or other insurance companies). However, there are some selfadministered drugs that are explicitly covered by Medicare. PROVIDER BASED PHYSICIAN PRACTICE Outpatient departments of the hospital where services provided at the facility are considered hospital services. Unlike a private office setting where you receive one bill, you may receive two bills, one for the physician and one for the hospital. In summary, you may incur a coinsurance liability to the hospital that you would not incur if the facility were not provider based. REFERRALS Recommendations made by your physician as to where to go for treatment. Referrals don t guarantee payments by the insurance company. Please see Authorization above. SECONDARY INSURANCE A supplemental insurance plan that will pay some deductibles and co-pays after the primary insurance has paid. Secondary insurance cannot be billed until the primary insurance has paid or denied the claim.

12 PATIENT FINANCIAL SERVICES AND BILLING SUPPORT BAYHEALTH.ORG/BILLING-INFORMATION N# /2018